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BRANDY & COGNAC COCKTAILS


Brandy: A strong alcoholic spirit distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice.

Categories include: Cognac, Armagnac, American Brandies (Apple Brandy was the very first distilled spirit made in America.) and fruit brandies.

Brandy began being distilled as a medicine in France around 1313 with commercial distaillation of drinking brandy beginning in the 1500's. According to Wikipedia, "Brandy" is a shortening of brandywine, which was derived from the Dutch word brandewijn, which literally means "burned wine", (derived from the process that most brandies are made with by applying heat, originally from open flames, to wine.)
 
Brandy has a defined rating system, the most common of the ratings include:
V.S. (very superior) or V.S.P. (very special) or three stars designates a blend in which the youngest brandy has been stored for at least two years in a cask.
V.S.O.P. (very superior old pale), Reserve or five stars designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least four years in a cask.
XO (extra old) or Napoléon designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least (recently upgraded to) ten years.
Hors d'âge (beyond age) is a designation which is formally equal to XO for Cognac, but for Armagnac designates brandy that is at least ten years old. The term is used by producers to market a high-quality product beyond the official age scale.

Though I am not as well versed in brandies as I would like to be, I do enjoy a good snifter of very excellent (hidden and hoarded) Cognac and I love brandy in cocktails.  I generally opt for a good mid-range VSOP for my cocktails, leaving my much pricier Cognac as a treat for very special occasions.

BRANDY COCKTAILS
 
B & B 
Equal parts Brandy and Benedictine served in a snifter.

BRANDY COCKTAIL 
2 ounces brandy,1/2 ounce orange curacao liqueur
2 dashes  each of Angostura bitters and Peychaud's bitters with a lemon peel garnish

1492 COCKTAIL
AN APERITIF TO REMEMBER
BLACKBERRY FIZZ
BLACKBERRY CAIPIRINHA
BRANDY ALEXANDER
BRANDY OLD FASHIONED
CHERRIES JUBILEE MARTIN
CHERRY CLAFOUTIS MARTINI
CHERRY PIE MARTINI
CHICAGO COCKTAIL
CRÊPES SUZETTE COCKTAIL
DRUNKEN CHERRY MARTINI
END OF THE WORLD MARTINI
IRISH STINGER

METROPOLITAN
 
A brandy version of a cross between a Manhattan and a Martini with 2 ounces of Brandy, 1 ounce of sweet vermouth, a bit of simple syrup and a few dashes of Angostura bitters

NOSTERATU'S REVENGE
PURGATORY PUNCH
RATTLED SKULL
ROSH HASHANAH COCKTAIL
SAGZERAC
SIDECAR
SPARKLING PEAR MARTINI
SPICED APPLE OLD FASHIONED
STINGER
TANGELO BOURBON TANGO WITH COGNAC FOAM
VIEUX CARRÉ
WICKED WITCH'S BREW

 
You might also like to make some homemade BRANDIED FRUIT.
 
 
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

SPICED APPLE OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL


I wanted an Old Fashioned but I didn't have any fresh oranges which are kind of an essential part of a classic Old Fashioned cocktail. According to the I.B.A., an Old Fashioned is basically a bitters soaked sugar cube muddled in the glass (with a bit of water to help dissolve the cube) then topped off with ice and whiskey and garnished with an orange and a cocktail cherry. Most of the time, when you order an Old Fashioned in a bar, they will muddle the orange slice and cherry with the sugar to release their juices into the cocktail. Though this is heresy to some, I happen to like this application of the muddled garnishes, it brings back fond memories.

But, again, no oranges. What I did have was an apple, fresh ginger and spices and I'm never shy when it comes to mixing things up, especially basic recipes like an Old Fashioned. There are tons of Old Fashioned recipes replacing the brandy or whiskey with rum, tequila and even vodka and moonshine. You can also replace the sugar with flavored liqueurs or simple syrups and even switch out the orange for another citrus.

Of course, by that time, you end up with a new cocktail, one that can no longer be called simply an "Old Fashioned". My thought is that if you only change out the spirit you add that spirit, as in "Rum" Old Fashioned (like a "Vodka" Martini). In my opinion, if you start messing with more ingredients an ingredient precise moniker is called for.

So, meet my:


SPICED APPLE
OLD FASHIONED

INGREDIENTS
2-1/2 Oz. Brandy
1/2 Fresh Apple (I used a Gravenstein), chopped fine
1 Tsp. Cardamom Ginger Simple Syrup (Recipe Below)
1/2 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Dashes Orange Bitters

Garnish: Apple Cube, Homemade Maraschino Cherry, Orange Twist (if you have an orange ...)

Tools: Muddler, Cocktail Shaker, Hawthorne Strainer

Glass: Old Fashioned

DIRECTIONS
Chill the glass in the freezer.
Muddle the apple pieces and lemon juice in the bottom of the cocktail shaker until the apple pieces release juices.
Fill the shaker with ice add the brandy, cardamom ginger simple syrup and bitters then shake until well chilled.
Strain into the chilled glass, garnish and serve.

Cardamom Ginger Simple Syrup

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons of Thinly Sliced Fresh Ginger
15 Cardamom Pods
1 Cup Turbinado (Raw) Sugar
1/2 Cup Water

Directions
Bring all the ingredients to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Immediately reduce the heat o low and and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Let it cool and allow it to steep for an hour or longer.
Strain and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Yes, Bailey was all over it.


Old Fashioned Week is November 2nd through November 11th.

Check out my other signature
Old Fashioned Recipes here.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

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